Chapter 18 Shu Cheng Shuang

I looked towards the door: "Shu Cheng Shuang! This kind of secret art hasn't been seen for many years. Does the Chen family really have such abilities?"

Shu Cheng Shuang is actually a kind of mutually echoing secret art.

Simply put, when a certain术士 (shùshì, Taoist mage) wants to set up a ghost realm, but can't do anything about the ghosts and gods within it, they will select several nodes corresponding to the ghost realm, arrange magical artifacts that can sense each other, and finally use the artifacts outside to activate the術陣 (shùzhèn, magic array) within the ghost realm.

However, the conditions for setting up Shu Cheng Shuang are too harsh. Whether inside or outside the ghost realm, if any layout is destroyed, the Shu Cheng Shuang secret art will fail.

Moreover, Shu Cheng Shuang also requires someone to go deep into the ghost realm to place the magical artifacts. This hidden chess piece who sneaks into the ghost realm is likely to never return. Therefore, many術士 (shùshì, Taoist mages) would rather choose to fight the ghosts head-on than set up "Shu Cheng Shuang."

The Chen family's move is somewhat incomprehensible.

I looked at the Chen family's gate and said, "Lao Liu, do you choose to take a look at the Chen family now, or go directly to the Jinshan Temple with me?"

Before Lao Liu could speak, I said, "Lao Liu, what I want to tell you is that the martial world isn't just a place for rationality."

"Love, hate, and choice, seemingly foolish, can sometimes allow people to find the meaning of living in this foolishness."

"We, people of the martial world, lick blood from the edge of a knife, disregarding life and death, what we want is satisfying our grievances. Sometimes, satisfying grievances is foolish, being sentimental is foolish, having concerns is foolish, and being infatuated and affectionate is also foolish."

"However, these foolish people inject the flavor of humanity into the bloody martial world."

"Lao Liu, what I want to tell you is, if you want to go, let's go, even if it's a mountain of knives and a prison of ghosts, it's worth taking a look, even if it's just to end a regret."

"Master!" Lao Liu cupped his fists in both hands and gave me a deep salute: "Let me think. Let me think."

"I'll wait for you!" I stepped aside and sat down.

The words I said to Lao Liu were not my original words, but came from Gui Da's mouth.

Gui Da was the closest person to my master. My master always said one thing to me: "If you want to live longer in the martial world, don't care so much about false feelings. Love is like clouds and smoke, most likely to make people dizzy. The more ruthless you are, the more awake you are, and the longer you will live."

"In my life, I only recognize money, not people. Living is for profit, so I can live to this day."

But Gui Da said to me: "Don't listen to Master Qu's words. Ninety percent of his words are correct, and the other ten percent are bullshit. If Master Qu was ruthless, none of us nine brothers would follow him."

"If you have the opportunity in the future, fulfill Master Qu's regret!"

"Forget it, you can't manage Master Qu's affairs. Back then, he was too stupid."

Then, Gui Da told me the words I just said.

To be honest, I think Gui Da's words make more sense than my master's. Moreover, my master didn't tell the truth either. If my master was ruthless, he wouldn't have risked his life to save me.

As for my master's regret, he never told me.

If I knew, whether it worked or not, I would try it.

While my thoughts were still spinning, Lao Liu finally spoke: "Master, I want to go and see. I..."

I knew what Lao Liu wanted to say.

The relationship between the master's family and the advisor is very delicate. The advisor can ask the master for help, but cannot make excessive demands. There must be a certain limit between master and servant. Crossing that limit is a major taboo for the advisor.

It is taboo for the advisor to borrow money from the master, let alone drag the master into a desperate fight.

I stood in front of Lao Liu and said, "Lao Liu, how many times have I told you, we are not master and servant, but brothers. It doesn't matter if you can't remember, I can remember."

"What are brothers for? Sometimes they are the ones who pull you over to help you draw your knife and fight. Let's go!"

Lao Liu quickly followed me from behind: "Master, can you let me open the door?"

After I stepped aside, I silently drew out my twin blades and followed closely behind Lao Liu, fearing that something unexpected would happen and there would be no time to rescue him.

Lao Liu walking in front of me was like a man returning late at night, afraid of disturbing his family's rest. He gently pushed open the door, tiptoed into the courtyard, looked up at the jujube tree in the courtyard, and walked slowly to the tree.

Is Lao Liu entering a haunted house?

No, he is going home. Even if his family is no longer here, he is still heading towards home.

According to the old saying in the Northeast, you can't go straight into the house when you get home late at night. You have to disperse the energy on your body in the yard to avoid bringing bad luck and evil spirits into the house. Walking around under the tree is one of the ways.

Lao Liu only stood for a while before walking towards the kitchen. That should be the place where his woman left him food, right?

The old stove is no longer there. I don't know if he can still smell the smoke from that time, but Lao Liu still went in.

The place where Lao Liu finally sat down should be his former bedroom, which is now Chen Xiaobei's room.

Throughout the whole process, Lao Liu never considered where there might be danger or where ghosts were hiding. Perhaps all he saw were the traces of the past.

Old alley, old friends.

Old friends from the last reincarnation meet again. Perhaps it is luck, or perhaps it is a kind of torment.

Lao Liu sat stiffly in the chair: "Master, can you help me take a look... take a look at that secret room, I..."